UFC 149 takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. McGee vs. Ring is part of the FX-televised prelims, which follow prelims on Facebook and precede main-card fights on pay-per-view.

McGee suffered the first loss of his UFC career when Constantinos Philippou outpointed him at UFC on FX 2. But the problems started long before he got in the cage.

“I didn’t have that desire to fight,” McGee today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “If you’ve ever been in that situation, you can’t really explain it until you feel it. You’re supposed to go out and perform in front of 20,000 people, and you don’t feel like fighting.”

McGee said there were physical problems, as well, that kept him from his best. A few weeks before the fight, he came down with inner-ear sinus infections that necessitated antibiotics and caused him to lose weight. There were also problems with his agent, and McGee found himself consumed with worry. When he walked into the arena, he had used up whatever energy he needed to care about what was about to transpire.

Of course, these are all factors that weigh on every professional fighter’s life. It’s how they’re dealt with that defines success.

“I had to find what I was missing, and what I was missing was I was worrying too much about everything else,” McGee said. “So I’m back to wanting to fight. I want to fight Nick Ring. I’ve wanted to fight him for the last two months. It’s back to the motivation that won me ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and 19 other fights.”

McGee and Ring previously faced off in the first round of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 11,’ and Ring pulled off a controversial decision win in the exhibition bout. McGee’s performance won him a wild-card slot in the reality-show tournament, however, and he went on to win the show’s tournament.

Both fighters found success inside the octagon after the reality show. But after back-to-back wins inside the octagon, Ring, too, was forced to regroup when Tim Boetsch outpointed him at UFC 135. So Saturday’s fight isn’t just for bragging rights, but also an important turnaround point. Back-to-back losses are something neither fighter wants.

McGee said he’s now shortened his training camps to make sure he has energy to burn when he fights. He doesn’t plan on having that lethargic feeling again.

“I do exactly eight weeks,” he said. “Because I’ve done 10 and 12-week camps, where I kind of ease into it, and sometimes I felt like I’d get to the fight and be worn out and not have that extra drive to whoop ass.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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